Federal Update Congress Prepares to Vote on COVID-19 Relief and Government Funding Package Today (December 21st), Democratic and Republican Congressional leaders announced that they had reached an agreement on a new emergency COVID-19 relief and omnibus spending package to avert a government shutdown. The COVID-19 relief package consists of approximately $900 billion of funding for households and businesses, testing, vaccine distribution,…
Continue readingOn December 1st, CMS released a final rule to establish the CY 2021 Physician Fee Schedule. It includes significant changes to reimbursement for evaluation & management services relative to other services, changes to telehealth coverage during and after the PHE, and changes to scope of practice and direct supervision requirements. The rule also revises the…
Continue readingState Updates Governor Cuomo Announces COVID-19 Vaccine Updates, Addresses Budget Concerns On December 16th, Governor Cuomo held a press conference during which he announced updates on the State’s COVID-19 vaccination efforts. The State has received 87,750 doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine to date, with approximately 80,000 additional doses expected in the coming days to support…
Continue readingState Updates Governor Cuomo Issues Executive Order 202.82 on Vaccination Processes On December 13th, Governor Cuomo signed Executive Order (EO) 202.82 (available here), which authorizes the use of new/temporary vaccination sites for administering the COVID-19 and influenza vaccines. At these Points of Dispensing (PODs) and other vaccination sites, which will be approved and overseen by the…
Continue readingOn November 18th, the New York State Office of Community Renewal (OCR) released a Request for Applications (RFA) for 2020 State Funded Housing Programs. OCR will award up to $9 million in State funding for the following programs: Access to Home Access to Home for Heroes (veterans) Access to Home for Medicaid Recipients Mobile &…
Continue readingOn June 17th, the New York State Department of Health (DOH) issued a public notice in the State Register of its intention to transition the current Adult Behavioral Health Home and Community Based Services (BH HCBS) to a new service array called Behavioral Health Adult Rehabilitation Services. DOH’s goal was to simplify this service array…
Continue readingState Updates Updates on Vaccine Administration On December 9th, Governor Cuomo held a press conference during which he announced several updates regarding the State’s vaccine administration plan. The federal government will be distributing the vaccine to New York State and to New York City, but the State’s plan will drive allocations of both shipments. Nursing…
Continue readingOn November 17th, New York State Homes and Community Renewal (HCR) released a Request for Proposals (RFP) that consolidates the availability of funding for HCR’s Multifamily Programs. These programs support affordable rental housing for low-to-moderate income individuals and families as part of Governor Cuomo’s five-year plan to combat homelessness and advance the construction and preservation…
Continue readingFederal Updates Biden Announces HHS Secretary Nominee Xavier Becerra, Other Health Team Members Framing it in the context of day one readiness to address the COVID pandemic, on December 7th President-elect Joe Biden’s transition team announced its selection of an array of health care nominees and appointees for the incoming Federal administration. Biden will nominate Attorney…
Continue readingOn November 18th, the New York State Department of Health (DOH) hosted an informational webinar on the State’s approach to the future extension of and amendments to the 1115 Medicaid Redesign Team (MRT) Waiver, which governs most of New York’s Medicaid program, including its managed care authorities. Currently, the MRT Waiver is set to expire…
Continue readingFederal Updates HHS Issues RFI on Making COVID-19 Waivers Permanent On November 25th, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a request for information (RFI) regarding temporary regulatory waivers made available during the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE). HHS is considering making some of the various temporary adjustments to regulations and guidance permanent…
Continue readingGovernor Cuomo Announces Updated COVID-19 Micro-Cluster Focus Zones On November 23rd, Governor Cuomo held a press conference during which he announced new micro-cluster zones across New York State, including new orange “warning” zones on Staten Island and in Monroe and Onondaga Counties, and new yellow “precautionary” zones in Upper Manhattan and Nassau and Suffolk Counties. The…
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